Cherry Jello Popcorn

A friend and fellow youth leader was driving me and another youth leader back from a church activity a couple weeks ago when she whipped out her special bag of school fundraiser candy popcorn and shared with us.  She said it was a shame she could only buy it when there was a fundraiser, but that she heard you could probably make it yourself with jello.

I was intrigued since I love candy coated anything ;) So I checked online, and sure enough, found a couple recipes! I figured it was the perfect time for some bright red popcorn with Valentine's Day coming up, so my first attempt was with cherry jello.  

It turned out pretty well but I think it needs a little tweaking to coat better and be a bit less grainy. 

Jello Popcorn

By The Black Peppercorn

8-9 cups of popped popcorn (1/2 c kernels in my air popper gave me around 9 cups)

¼ cup butter

¼ cup corn syrup 

1 3 oz package Jello

½ cup white sugar

few drops of food coloring, if desired (I used some, and as you can see, it's pretty bright ha)

Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in the corn syrup until smooth. Mix in the Jello, sugar and food coloring (if desired). Bring the candy coating to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

In a large bowl, pour the candy coating over the popcorn. Using a wooden spoon, mix the popcorn so that they are evenly coated with the candy coating.

Spread the popcorn on a cookie sheet lined with a baking mat. Bake in a 250F oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately break the popcorn apart. The candy will harden as it cools.